In the Beginning

Many months have passed since I last wrote. As I sit to write this Christmas Eve day, a strange angle to the Christmas story comes to mind.

Blame it on my pastor, Dr. Rich Liverance. He's been preaching a series on Genesis. This has been a literary, scientific, and theological lesson. Though my brain has flashbacks to high school science class as he elaborates on Periodic Table of Elements and shows the interaction of these elements, I can appreciate the gist of the laws set up in nature.

In the Beginning...

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Genesis 1:1a states: "In the beginning God created..."

As we've studied the literary writings of Genesis and other Scripture references to God creating the world and as we've analysed scientific theories for a young earth created in six days or an old earth slowly evolving to what we have today, it has become very clear that it takes faith to believe either theory.

You either believe that the conditions of the earth today have been constant for billions of years, therefore making it possible to test the existing minerals, etc. and know that they are so old. However, if the rocks, for example, were formed in conditions that would not be known unless you were there to observe, then the testing of them would not reveal an accurate age.

If you believe in the six days of creation, you have to have faith that the way God stated things was literal. In today's climate, you are a fool for believing this, as evolution is no longer consider theory.

None of this, however, matters as much as one huge theological point.

And God saw that it was Good...

Beginning on the third day, the Bible shares God's thoughts on His creative work.

10God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

God called the earth "good." He called all He was creating "good." The important fact is that God looked down on a perfect world, one without sin and without death; a world filled with new beauty never imagined outside His own imagination. Proudly He admitted that His masterpiece came to life as He declared it should.

Sure, He could have had it take millions or billions of years. If you believe that God loves the earth as much or more than He loves mankind, He may have wished to see its forming and postpone mankind. Or He may have wished to savour His creation, knowing what a mess we'd make of it.

There is room to believe in large amounts of time passing and the Creator setting it all in motion like a set of dominoes. There is room until you realise one major fact that makes it impossible.

To Be or Not To Be...

Death. Evolution must include death. You cannot have evolutionary progress without survival of the fittest. In order for a species to evolve from sludge in a pond all the way to humanity, death had to happen over and over and over for billions upon billions of years.

If this was true, then Adam and Eve truly are a myth. God either created mankind as sinners or there really is no sin. Death couldn't be a result of sin, since death came unimaginably many years before there was a man or a woman.

So, there either was no sin or God endorsed it through creation, and God called all that and death good as the world evolved.

If God endorses death and the way we've lived (think back on your history books or listen to the news) since time began, there is no need for a Saviour.

Definitely, don't concern yourself with Christmas! Celebrate the holidays and the jolly old Saint Nick. Focus on love and giving, because you're as good as you'll ever get. There is no hope for you outside yourself.

Unto Us is Born This Day...A Saviour, Messiah God

If, however, God endorses perfection and eternity, then how grieved He must have been for centuries as He called out to people, who He made with such care, molding us and placing us specially in a world where all our needs and wants could be met.

There, in the perfect world, we listened to one voice saying that maybe God wasn't telling us the whole truth. Maybe there was something better than God. We listened. We responded. We doubted. We acted. We sinned. We lost. We died—first to the ability to choose God and then through physical decay.

God did not sit idly by and let us destroy ourselves as we deserved to do.

• At just the right time, He pierced through time and placed Himself in the womb of a woman. 
• He learned our struggles with sin firsthand, yet never sinned.
• He wept at the grief of death.

He declared Himself to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life, saying that unless we know Him, we would not know life again.

With one man—Adam—he brought sin in the world with his choice of one tree from which he could not eat. Believing Satan's words, he had faith that he'd have the best by this choice.

With one man, Yeshua, He brought righteousness into the world and life by one choice—following Him. By faith, we are asked to believe that this path, though painful, is better than life as we used to live.

God, promised Redeemer since the beginning of sin—He came to die that our sins might die. He came to rise from the dead, that we may die to our old life and live in Him.

This holiday isn't about gifts given, used, returned, forgotten.

This is an eternal Gift. This Gift begins in opening our hearts and ends in living for eternity. It begins with me and must be shared with you. It's a Gift that gives more and more the more it is embraced. It is THE GIFT that would be worth giving our physical lives for, because the life that comes from shedding our flesh will be never destroyed.

May you know this Gift this Christmas and in the New Year. May God grant us faith to live in this new Life the next 365 days.

I wish nothing more for you this Christmas than Yeshua.

A WALK WITH MARY

Summary

A monologue, in which Mary the mother of Jesus reflects back on the events of the first Christmas and of the first Easter. 

Characters

Mary 

Script

I could never understand why my parents named me that. Mary. Just a family name, but why Mary? Why not Vania—'God's gracious gift' or Tobey—'God is good' or even Sarah—'princess." Why Mary? Why 'bitter'?

But not only did my name mean 'bitter,' as if that's not hard enough to answer to, it also was one of the most common names. 

'Mary! Did you finish your mending?' 

Five dozen yes's or no's would echo down our ally.

I learned to accept being common and answering to 'bitter' without becoming it. It was expected of a woman to accept her lot, and how could I be discontent when daily I knew the goodness of my God! 

One of my greatest amazements was His goodness in betrothing me to Joseph. I didn't need to be reminded, though my mother often would, of all the men my father could have chosen for me. Instead he chose Joseph, and Joseph wanted me! Such a kind and generous heart; I knew I would learn to love him very soon, if my admiration of him wasn't mixed with love already. 

"Then it happened. One minute I was daydreaming of Joseph, the children we'd have, a clean home with Joseph's shop around back, the children's bright eyes the first time they see the Temple, helping my children learn the Holy Scriptures, our Torah... when suddenly, the most incredible light shone from a being in the middle of my room. I hid my face. Was it God? Would I die? 

"Then he said it. 'Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.' 

Me! A common nobody found favour with El Elyon, God Most High! Would have His Son! Would have the Messiah that every female born of Jacob dreamt of having! But it would be me! I had only kiddingly wished for it. I would laugh with pleasure at the thought of being uncommon enough to bear the Messiah—God's tool to deliver Israel. 

Deliver Israel.... That's the part I never understood; no Jew ever did. We expected a military hero, a king. The deliverance we experienced was unexpected. It was the reason Gabriel didn't change my name when he announced my son, Jesus, God's Son would be born. He called me Mary. 

I've pondered many things while raising Jesus. Or was it me learning from Him? That's the humour of it all. He taught in our Temple when He was only twelve! But He was God; why shouldn't He!

Then He did it. He delivered us. 

He allowed those who hated Him to just kill Him. He'd walked out of a crowd-full of people trying to stone Him. Then, for just a handful of rulers, He submits to condemnation. 

It was then I knew why I was called 'bitter.' I had never face bitterness like I did there at the feet of my son as He hung dying: not even when Joseph almost divorced me or the community shunned me as an adulteress or when we fled to Egypt to save Jesus' life or when Joseph died or Jesus left home. But here... I saw the hope of Israel dying a "needless" death. I had learnt by then not to ask or interfere, but to wait on the Lord. 

So I watched. As His heart broke and His lifeblood literally mixed with water and poured from His side, I died. I suffered the bitterest my life could have known. The Hope of Israel went out with the sun. It must have been His Father's anger, I thought then, that shook the earth. What could a mere woman do, Adonai?! You know. I would have died in His place! Even as I thought it, however, I knew it wouldn't have been the same. Though what good it had done for Him to die, I couldn't know. 

When the earthquake happened, many of Jesus' followers thought it was the end; we'd be swallowed up by the earth like Korah was in the desert. Some were even foolish enough to wail that God's prophecies were ruined; surely all Israel would die for it. Others ignored nature's chaos, and believed their trust in Jesus was misplaced. 

We didn't know then that the Temple curtain had been torn. Torn from top to bottom. The entrance to the forbidden Holy of Holies was exposed. All the priests ran out covering their eyes lest they perish.

Three days of grieving. A sorrowful Sabbath. Then Mary of Magdela, Mary Clopas wife and Saloam found Jesus' tomb was empty. Mary of Magdela claimed Jesus had come to her...alive! As the weeks went by, we and five hundred others saw Jesus, touched Him, ate and talked with Him. 

My son is alive! God's Son is alive. He is no more mine to guide and mother, but I am His now. He is and always has been greater than I. I can know His Father because of His blood sacrificed and perfect, acceptable as the complete atonement for my sin. Elohim, God has accepted Him as my sacrifice; my punishment was paid by my son. I am no longer 'bitter.' I am still common among men, yet loved by the Lord. 

Have you met Him? Come. Let me introduce you to Jesus.

.................................................
© Katy R. Pent, all rights reserved.

Hallelu Yah!

I recently received a link to this video of a "Random Act of Culture," as they called it, that happened at Macy's in Pennsylvania. 

Besides the many voices joining spontaneously in song (a small glimpse of heaven), I love the frame where the people stood as the Hallelujah chorus began. 

History states that at the first performance of Handel's Messiah in London (1743), King George II rose to his feet when the Hallelujah chorus was sung and, of course, the whole audience joined him. Since then, it is tradition for an audience to stand during this chorus. 

Scholars speculate as to why the King stood. Regardless of his motivation, his act is a illustration of Truth—Yeshua (Jesus) is King of kings and Lord of lords. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Yeshua  as Lord. Those who choose to do so now are filled with joy. Those unwilling to submit now will one day do so trembling with fear at the wonder of His presence and the judgment they have earned.

Hallelujah literally means "Praise Yah" or "Praise Yahweh." The song is a quote from Revelation 11:15, 19:6 and 19:16. 

Hallelujah: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, Hallelujah!

This Christmas remember—although His birth was humble, He is great and His return will be fearful for those who reject Him. 

Religion is useless. Only a relationship with God our Creator, through Yeshua our Saviour, will mean anything when this world passes away.

Praise Yeshua with your words, with your life, in your relationships, and in the small details of the mundane day or the busy holiday. Share Him with your family and friends. He is the only gift worth giving.

Magical: Mysteriously Enchanting

What is it about childhood that makes this time of year so magical?

While I was growing up, from '77 to '84 we lived in Minnesota. For me, those are my favourite memories of Christmas. We have a large family. In MN, all the family was together. This spelled lots of laughter, as my older siblings are some of the funniest people I know.

Around this time, we'd assemble our fake Christmas tree. It may not seem magical to you, but as a family activity, it was one of the best.

Christmas morning, my parents made a rule that Kevin would get up first and make the fire (that kept us from waking my parents too early). When it was going, he'd come up to get me (I remember laying awake listening for his footsteps coming up the stairs), and we'd sit before our stockings (me peeking, but Kevin much more disciplined). At a set time, 7:00, I believe, we'd wake Mom and Dad and, eventually, the rest of the family.

Mom always made fresh sticky buns for Christmas morning, and, later in the day, Dad made the egg nog. We'd open our presents. And an aunt, uncle, and cousins would come for dinner. There was snow, Christmas carols, and lighted services at church. The atmosphere smiled around you.

There was a suspense building up to Christmas day that went far beyond the gifts.

Jesus understood the ingrained mystery that children accept about Him, but we, who have to have all the answers, often miss.

"But when Jesus saw [His disciples turning the children away], he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.' And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them." (Mark 10:14-16)

Jesus- mystery in the flesh, God made man; Immanuel, God with us!

Scholars in ancient times understood many things about the prophecies of Jesus coming, but they also confused details of the Messiah's coming, so much so that they missed it. Even the disciples, with Him everyday, misunderstood numerous teaching of Jesus until after His resurrection.

Scripture clearly teaches essential truths that we can know about our Messiah. However, much mystery still enshrouds our Saviour; mystery which excites expectation of things yet unseen. Our hope!

My wish for all of us this Christmas is that we may return to the joy of God sending the long-promised Messiah, and that we may also embrace the mystery of our Lord and return to the magic of Christmas.